Ex-Man Utd ace received FA Youth Cup however did not make Red Devils debut till he was 35
A former Manchester United prospect who won the FA Youth Cup didn’t make his senior Red Devils debut until he was 35, almost two decades later
Former Manchester United defender Paul McShane didn’t make his debut for the club until he was 35 – despite winning the FA Youth Cup.
Republic of Ireland international McShane, who turns 39 today, January 6, enjoyed a successful career in the Football League after coming through the academy at United. The defender starred for the youth team and won the FA Youth Cup with the Red Devils in 2003, defeating Middlesbrough 3-1.
McShane starred in a defence with the man famed for knocking out his pal Wayne Rooney, Phil Bardsley, behind a midfield and forward line containing Chris Eagles, Kieran Richardson and captain David Jones. The two-legged final saw United held 1-1 at Old Trafford before a 2-0 victory with goals from Richardson and Ben Collett.
While the team looks far from a vintage United academy side, the young guns were tipped for big things under the wings of Sir Alex Ferguson, but despite a number of players making their introductions to the first team, none stood the test of time.
Having watched his youth side team-mates given the chance to force their way into the Old Trafford first team, McShane was instead loaned out to Walsall and Brighton & Hove Albion before he joined West Bromwich Albion in a permanent move in 2006.
McShane forged a good career in the Championship as well as playing 98 times in the Premier League for relegation-battling Sunderland and Hull City. Many would be forgiven for thinking McShane’s career at The Theatre of Dreams was gone shortly after his exit but almost two decades on from first joining United as a teenager, McShane made a sensational return as a player-coach for the U21s and U23s in 2021.
United’s involvement in the newly-revamped EFL Trophy, which allowed Premier League teams to enter their U21 team, gave the youngsters at Carrington the perfect chance to play in competitive senior games, an opportunity that then-35-year-old McShane also didn’t pass up.
Having played the opening game of the Premier League 2 season in August 2021, as one of the allocated over-23 players, McShane soon took the chance to make his debut for United in the EFL Trophy win against Bradford. McShane played the full 90 minutes and was booked before half-time as an own goal from Yann Songo’o and goals from Joe Hugill and Dillon Hoogewerf saw United cruise to a 3-0 win.
McShane featured again in the competition a few weeks later when United headed to his former club Sunderland. However, it wasn’t a happy return for the 33-time Ireland international as United were beaten 2-1. He turned out six times in total that season before retiring from playing to take up a full-time role as the club’s Professional Development Phase coach, a position he still holds today.
